MLB, MLBPA continuing to discuss international draft/qualifying offer

Despite Major League Baseball’s announcement that Opening Day would not begin before April 14, the league and Players Association continue to discuss their roadblock on the international draft and qualifying offer (as first reported by Tim Healey of Newsday). Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic adds that the parties “(would) determine the number of games in the season” if a new deal is finalized.

The news that the two sides remain in contact could offer a modicum of hope for progress. They’d closed much of the gap on core economics issues, after all, before the league’s desire for an international draft and the union’s push for the elimination of the qualifying offer led to a stalemate.

However, as has become apparent throughout negotiations, there’s no reason to put the cart before the horse. Jeff Passan of ESPN tweets that in-person bargaining is finished for tonight; Robert Murray of FanSided adds they “plan to speak more tomorrow,” suggesting there’s little optimism about finalizing a CBA in the coming hours. Indeed, MLB and the Players Association have kept open lines of communication — even those that fall short of true “negotiations” — constantly in recent weeks.

It’s unclear how much talks will develop this evening. We’ve seen rapid changes in the tenor of negotiations a few times already. Progress towards an eventual endpoint has waxed and waned, particularly as the parties have met frequently over the past few weeks. There’s no indication at this point the league is considering backtracking on its announcement that the first four series of the regular season have been canceled. That was a unilateral MLB decision, though, and nothing bars them from putting those games back on the schedule if they and the union move towards an agreement in the coming days.